


it's right here (don't waste it)

by cathect



Category: Buzzfeed The Try Guys (Web Series)
Genre: Corny Instagram Posts, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Secret Relationship (uwu), The Try Guys Get Kidnapped (inspired), They're In Love Your Honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 02:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15985937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathect/pseuds/cathect
Summary: It’s pretty much all he could think about today, as Thomas and his partner pretended to kidnap them all: if it was real, if he was really in danger, his biggest regret would probably be how scared he’d been to fall for Zach. How he’d fought it every step of the way until it was almost too late. It was all so easy once he finally just gave in to how he felt, but even now he could kick himself for how long it took to get there.-or, the one where getting fake-kidnapped finally snaps things into perspective for eugene.





	it's right here (don't waste it)

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was inspired by the "try guys get kidnapped" video. i love zagene with all my heart and soul so here's me dipping my toes into that action.
> 
> thank you as always to erin for beta'ing (and describing the pic eugene takes of zach... and giving me a title... basically thank you for my life)!

* * *

Eugene is fucking exhausted.

It’s been one of the longest filming days since the Try Guys left Buzzfeed and, even though it was fun, all he wants to do is sleep— preferably with Zach in his arms, but that part’s optional at this point because Eugene really thinks he might pass out in the shower if he’s not careful.

 _The Try Guys Get Kidnapped_ was a great idea in its conception, and Eugene actually learned a lot. In fact, if his arms weren’t sore from being handcuffed behind his back for so long, he would probably think the whole experience was more than worth it. As it is, his shoulders ache and he can still feel the phantom sting of the metal around his wrists. The hot water beating against his back is only helping minutely, but the pain isn’t even what’s on the forefront of his mind.

Something Keith said keeps digging at him. _We have something to fight for_ , he’d said, in reference to his and Ned’s marriages and their ability to get out of the cuffs faster than Zach or Eugene. It was supposed to be a joke. Eugene knows that, but it’s been echoing in his mind since Keith said it.

It’s not like he had any reason _not_ to say it; as far as everyone knows, both Eugene and Zach are as single as they’ve always been. They’ve kept their relationship a secret since it started; from the beginning, when it was drunken hookups that they both regretted in the morning, to now, when Eugene sometimes feels like he’ll die if he doesn’t hold Zach’s hand— they’ve kept it just between them. And it’s _good_. Eugene is happy, and so in love, but it’s things like today that make him wonder why they’ve kept it under wraps for so long.

Maybe, at first, they were both scared it wouldn’t work out. Hell, they were both _sure_ it wouldn’t. But now here they are, six months later, still going strong. It’s kind of corny, but it feels sort of like a miracle; it feels like they stumbled upon something they were never supposed to find.

It’s pretty much all he could think about today, as Thomas and his partner pretended to kidnap them all: if it was real, if he was really in danger, his biggest regret would probably be how scared he’d been to fall for Zach. How he’d fought it every step of the way until it was almost too late. It was all so easy once he finally just gave in to how he felt, but even now he could kick himself for how long it took to get there.

“Eugene?” Zach’s voice echoes off the bathroom walls. He sounds almost concerned and, belatedly, Eugene realizes the water has gone from scalding to barely lukewarm in the time it took him to get lost in his thoughts.

“Almost done!” He calls back. In reality, he hasn’t even washed his hair yet, but he doesn’t want Zach to worry about how long he’s been in here.

“Kay,” Zach says. “I’m gonna get in bed.”

Eugene doesn’t bother answering because, knowing Zach, he’s already leaving the bathroom. Sure enough, the door shuts a moment later, and Eugene rushes through his shower routine in record time. His arms shake as he washes his hair, and he presses his fingers into his biceps in a half-assed massage. It doesn’t help much, but the bruising dig into his muscles is almost relaxing.

By the time Eugene has gotten out of the shower and dried himself off, Zach is curled up in his bed. Eugene’s heart flutters. Zach always looks so at home in his apartment; when they decide to take that next step, it’s likely that Zach will be moving into Eugene’s place, and it calms something in Eugene to know that he’s already comfortable in it.

“Took you long enough.” Zach murmurs, looking up at Eugene with a sleepy smile.

Eugene rolls his eyes as he tugs on a pair of sweatpants. “I wasn’t even in there for that long,” he says, even though he was. “You’re just impatient.”

Zach hums instead of giving a real response, and Eugene crawls into bed next to him. Zach throws an arm over Eugene’s stomach and uses it to pull him closer. Eugene goes without protest, and smiles when he feels Zach press his face into his neck. He’s already got his glasses off and, without the frames getting in the way, Zach can nuzzle against his skin easily.

“I kind of hated today,” Zach says after a moment of silence.

Eugene pulls back just enough to look down at him. “You did?” He asks. Zach hums a confirmation. “Why?”

“Just.” Zach shrugs. “I didn’t like everyone being in danger. Especially you.”

“We weren’t in any _real_ danger,” Eugene reminds him gently, even though he knows exactly where Zach is coming from. “There was a camera crew with us the whole time, remember?”

Zach frowns at Eugene’s slight teasing, and Eugene kisses him until the expression melts away.

“I know _that_ ,” Zach says, pouting when they break apart. He leans back in Eugene’s arms so they’re more face to face. “I still didn’t like it, though; seeing you in handcuffs, with a hood over your head. It’s not a fun image for me to have burned into my brain forever.”

“Zach—”

“And when they took you off to interrogate you,” Zach cuts across, talking faster like he always does when he’s anxious. “We could hear them yelling, and I just. I was scared for you, I guess, even though I knew I didn’t need to be.”

“Hey,” Eugene says softly, bringing one hand up to cup Zach’s cheek. “It wasn’t real. I'm right here. I’m okay.” His voice gets softer with each statement and he offers a smile. “Aside from wanting to rip my arms off my body, of course.”

“Yeah,” Zach mutters, clearly a little embarrassed by his admission.

“I didn’t like it either,” Eugene says, the hand on Zach’s cheek trailing up and into the hair behind his ear. “The whole time, I kept remembering what Keith said.”

Zach raises his eyebrows. “About him and Ned having something to fight for?” He asks. Eugene nods and Zach sighs. “Yeah, me too. I almost said something to him, but obviously I couldn’t.”

He laughs nervously to cover up what Eugene already knows: Zach’s been ready to tell people for a long time, and only hasn’t because he knew Eugene wasn’t ready. But Eugene is ready now, he thinks— he _hopes_.

“It got me thinking.” Eugene strokes Zach’s hair absentmindedly. “I— I don’t want to... hide this anymore.”

Zach’s eyes, which had fallen shut the moment Eugene started playing with his hair, fly open. “You want to tell the guys?”

“I want to tell everyone,” Eugene says. “I want to post pictures of you on Instagram with the sappiest captions I can think of. I want to tweet about how adorable you look when you tell an especially bad joke. I—“

“I get it, you’re hopelessly in love with me.” Zach playfully rolls his eyes but his cheeks are pink and he’s fighting a smile.

Eugene can’t help himself. “I am,” he agrees. Zach’s face burns brighter, but he doesn’t shy away. “And I want everyone to know it. They should have known it a long time ago.”

Zach just stares at him for a minute, like he’s waiting for the punchline. Like he’s waiting for Eugene to take it back. “Really?” He finally asks.

“Really,” Eugene says.

He leans forward and kisses Zach gently. It’s the end of the conversation, and it feels a lot like coming home, like everything clicks into place around them. One of Zach’s hands wraps around the back of Eugene’s neck and pulls him closer, and he lets out this content little sigh that has Eugene wondering how he could have fought this for so long.

“We should get some sleep,” Eugene says quietly after a few minutes. It’s the last thing he wants right now, but he can feel Zach falling asleep against him.

“Already there, babe.” Zach yawns, as if to make his point, and they both laugh. He finds Eugene’s hand with his own and twines their fingers together, sighing against Eugene’s chest. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Eugene murmurs into Zach’s hair as the sound of cicadas outside and Zach’s soft snoring lull him to sleep.

-

When Eugene wakes up, he’s cold.

He opens his eyes slowly to see that he and Zach have separated in the night. Zach’s nearly falling off the bed with how close to the edge he is, and Eugene bites his lip on a smile. They’re facing each other, and Eugene scoots closer, until their noses are practically touching.

He reaches out and traces his finger down the bridge of Zach’s nose. Zach’s eyebrows scrunch up and he makes a little noise, but he doesn’t wake up. Streaks of sunlight fall over his face, and Eugene’s breath catches in his throat at the sight.

Slowly, so as not to wake Zach up, Eugene blindly reaches behind him for his phone. Once he wraps his fingers around it, he fumbles with the charger until he can unplug it and then opens up the camera app. He taps the screen to make it focus better and then snaps a few pictures of his boyfriend slumbering away in front of him.

It takes him a few minutes, but he picks the best one of the bunch. Zach’s face is mushed against the pillow and his wispy brown hair is half matted down, half sticking up at odd angles. The light coming in through Eugene’s bedroom window makes Zach look more golden-skinned and amplifies the soft curves of his jaw and slope of his cheek. His mouth hangs open a little, and the sunshine gleams off a bit of drool at the corner of his mouth. It’s maybe not the most flattering picture of Zach to exist, but Eugene opens Instagram anyway.

It feels a little unfair to not consult Zach on this, but Eugene has already typed out his cringey caption— _a face only a mother could love (okay, maybe I love it too)_ — tagged Zach, and hit _post_ before he can put too much thought into it. He stares at the post sitting there on his feed and waits.

The notifications start pouring in almost immediately.

They’re mostly from viewers who probably have Eugene’s post notifications on, but a few comments are from familiar usernames. Buzzfeed employees, one of Eugene’s sisters, _Keith_ — things that range from how shocked some people are, to how long others have known it was going on.

Within two minutes, Eugene’s phone starts ringing and Ned’s face appears on his screen. Zach stirs next to him and groans at the shrill ringtone, smacking Eugene’s arm and whining, “Turn it _off_.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Eugene turns his phone on silent and sets it back on the nightstand.

“Was that Ned’s ringtone?” Zach asks, not really waiting for an answer before he continues, “What could he possibly want right now?”

Eugene smiles and tugs Zach into his arms, moving them back towards the middle of the bed. “Dunno,” he lies, mouth right up against Zach’s ear. “Probably has a video idea or something. He can leave a message.”

“Mm,” Zach agrees.

Eugene buries his face in Zach’s hair and sighs. He’s still a little nervous about all of this, about the way people will react and what they might say, but the warmth of Zach pressed up against him overpowers that feeling until he relaxes. He opens his mouth to tell Zach he loves him, but Zach beats him to the punch.

“Loveyou,” he mumbles, voice sleep-rough and words slurring together. Somehow, it causes any lingering anxieties in Eugene to fly out the window like they were never there in the first place. Nobody’s ever had that effect on Eugene before, and it makes his heart flip in his chest.

This is the right decision. _Zach_  is the right decision. He’s never been more sure of anything in his life.

Eugene kisses Zach’s nose, and doesn’t even hate how cheesy it is. “Love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> drop me a comment letting me know what you think! i'm a struggling college student surviving on validation alone.
> 
> come visit me on tumblr @devilstrip!


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